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A dramatic and visceral depiction of the Bengali sport of bull racing has won top prize in a new photography competition.

The action-packed shot, taken by amateur photographer Partha Pratim Saha in West Bengal, was praised for its “dynamism” by the judges of the inaugural Momentum prize.

Bull racing, known locally as Moichhara, is popular in rural Bengal, and takes place in muddy paddy fields before sowing begins in the monsoon. A pair of bulls are ridden by a single jockey in the high-stakes pastime.

The runner-up in the competition, launched by Channel 4 and Blipfoto at the BT Paralympic World Cup, went to a photograph of a ‘swamp soccer’ match by Damian Glowacki. Third place was awarded to a picture of a girls rugby match taken in New Zealand by Caroline Foster.

Actually, I’m not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I’m not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren’t cooks. – Henri Cartier-Bresson

“If two hitherto rival football teams, under the influence of brotherly love, decided to co-operate in placing the football first beyond one goal and then beyond the other, no one’s happiness would be increased” – Bertrand Russell(English Logician and Philosopher 1872-1970)

A game that brings many questions to mind, such as: Why are Spain still called “La Roja” when they play in blue? Why do Portugal have one of the ugliest shirts in international football? If Ronaldo ever becomes a Buddhistmonk, will he have to change his first name? As far as the football is concerned, here are some statistics from the BBC site:

Head-to-head

– They have met 32 times in international football. Portugal have won just five matches, Spain 15 and there have been 12 draws.

– But Portugal won their last meeting 1-0, which came at the Euro 2004 group stages and eliminated Sapin from the competition.

– And Spain have only beaten Portugal once in the ten matches since 1958.

Spain

– They must make history if they are to win the World Cup, as no country has lost its first group match and gone on to lift the trophy.

– David Villa has scored six goals in six starts at the World Cup and is now the all-time top scorer for Spain at the tournament.

– Spain became the first team since Hungary in 1986 not to collect a single card in the group stages of a World Cup tournament. In fact, they have not had a player cautioned in their last six matches since Sergio Ramos was booked against France on 3 March.

Portugal

– Portugal have conceded just one goal in their last 12 internationals.

– Should they get through against Spain, they will set a new unbeaten record for Portugal of 20 games in all competitions.

– They have failed to score in their last two World Cup knockout matches – 0-0 (aet) against England in the quarter-final and a 1-0 defeat to France in the semi-final in 2006.

Portugal is a high hill with a white watch tower on it flying signal flags. It is apparently inhabited by one man who lives in a long row of yellow houses with red roofs, and populated by sheep who do grand acts of balancing on the side of the hill – Richard H. Davis